Japanese scientists have shown amazing footage proving the ability of plants to communicate with each other
Scientists from Saitama University in Japan have filmed a video showing how plants perceive and respond to danger signals from their neighbors.
Plants use a fine mist of airborne compounds to communicate and protect themselves from each other.
The researchers installed a pump to transfer compounds released by insect-damaged plants to their undamaged neighbors. Using a fluorescence microscope, they visualized the reaction of plants to these danger signals.
In the experiment, the caterpillars were placed on the leaves of tomato and Arabidopsis thaliana, after which the reaction of intact plants was observed. Plants have been genetically altered to detect calcium signals similar to those used by human cells to communicate.
The results of the study showed that plants respond to danger signals within a minute of exposure, and the stomata through which they “breathe” CO2 play a role in this process.
Masatsugu Toyota, a molecular biologist and senior author of the study, notes that this “ethereal communication network” of plants plays a key role in the timely protection of each other from threats. These new discoveries may shed light on the complex mechanisms of plant communication, previously invisible to the human eye.
The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.
